


Promise Me

by PartridgeOnAPearTree



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Light-Hearted, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-13
Updated: 2015-12-13
Packaged: 2018-05-06 11:43:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5415674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PartridgeOnAPearTree/pseuds/PartridgeOnAPearTree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Let’s work even harder from now on, okay?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Promise Me

**Author's Note:**

> To those who have read both the Transversal Series and that Facebook AU, consider this as a gift from me!  
> This oneshot was written to commemorate my being exempted from Math finals and the fact that the person that I like likes me back. I realized that maybe I should stop being so bitter all the time, haha!  
> If you haven't checked out both Transversal and that Facebook AU (titled 'Nagito Komaeda Has Accepted Your Friend Request!'), you really should take a peek! :D

“Okay, get a sheet of paper.” Came with their Math teacher’s announcement are thousands of complaints—things like ‘ _What!? But we just had a quiz!_ ’, ‘ _Another one? Seriously?_ ’ and ‘ _Sir! Control yourself!_ ’ Hinata could even swear that he heard someone screaming in agony too, but maybe that part was just his imagination.

 

“Relax.” Their teacher speaks again. “I'm not _that_ bad. Listen. I know that our lessons are getting stressful for you guys nowadays, so this mini activity is just something like a stress reliever. Despite that, I want you guys to answer the questions that I'm about to give as seriously and as honestly as you can.”

 

The earlier protests died out rather fast, and in their stead came low murmurs of speculation.

 

‘ _Man, I don’t trust our teacher…_ ’

 

‘ _Is this even true?_ ’

 

‘ _Haha, is he going to have us answer an evaluation form or something? Seems like serious stuff._ ’

 

Hinata curiously observes their teacher who seems to be preparing something in the classroom’s desktop. He himself is curious about what their teacher will show the class, and his internal questions get shortly answered when the projector shows a slide from a presentation.

 

‘ _What do you think of Math?_ ’

 

That was the question flashed by the presentation. Hinata hears a collective ‘ _ooohh_ ’ from his classmates, obviously relieved that the mini ‘quiz’ seems to be an introspective activity of sorts. He quickly takes the pen that was previously forgotten and simply placed on his armchair and writes on the sheet of paper that he took out.

 

‘ _I think it’s fun._ ’

 

That was Hinata’s half-assed reply. Albeit short, he knew that he meant his answer anyway. He _does_ think Math is fun. That wasn’t a joke or sarcasm or anything like that. He also knows that thinking that way about Math is an unpopular practice, but something like that is not going to stop him.

 

‘ _What do you think of our recent lessons?_ ’

 

That was the second question. He shortly hears someone cussing the moment the query was flashed. Seems whoever that person is isn’t very pleased. Hinata writes a short and brief ‘ _I think they're easy. I just have to practice._ ’

 

He wonders how true that answer is. Truth to be told, a part of his mind knows that he's already having a difficult time, but he firmly refuses to fully acknowledge that. He thinks that the moment he accepts that the subject is difficult will be the moment that he’ll get discouraged.

 

Well, that, or it can be the moment when he’ll apply much more effort than he already is applying.

 

There is also the fact that he's wondering if the lessons are indeed hard, or if he's just really not competent enough.

 

Pushing the negative thoughts from his mind, he looks at the third question that was newly flashed. ‘ _What do you think of your professor?_ ’, it said. He heard another collective ‘ _ooohh_ ’ followed by boisterous laughter from one side of the classroom, and he resists the urge to turn around to check who it was.

 

‘ _I think he teaches well._ ’

 

That wasn’t a lie too. For some reason, their Math class seems fond of joking with their professor, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t teach well or something like that. He's just a little bit too lenient, if Hinata does say so himself…

 

After the excitement for the question has died down, their professor takes the microphone again and doesn’t speak for a while. Hinata curiously watches because he doesn’t understand why the mood seems so serious all of a sudden.

 

“Alright.” The professor clears his throat. “The next question—I’d like you guys to answer it no matter what. A student who doesn’t answer will have to endure being called on every day for recitation.”

 

‘ _What the fuck? How serious is the next question anyway?_ ’

 

‘ _I can’t think of any possible questions… I mean, he did ask already what we think about him, so it can’t be that…_ ’

 

‘ _Damn, I wouldn’t want to recite every single day!_ ’

 

As soon as the teacher presses a button on the keyboard, various reactions louder than ever before filled the room. Laugher—overly loud laughter—and gasps of surprise were heard by Hinata as he himself let out a small nervous chuckle upon seeing the words on the presentation.

 

‘ _Who's your crush in this section? :)_ ’

 

That was what the presentation said.

 

\--

 

More than two years and a half before the present time, Hinata was nothing but a usual student who isn’t even sure if he can pass the Hope’s Peak University Admission Test. He was like everyone else who wishes to someday study in the country’s most prestigious university.

 

He knew, however, that if he's serious about his dream, he must give his best effort. He must utilize every available resource that can guarantee his passing of the test, and that’s why he convinced his parents to enroll him to this review center that happens to be expensive, but also shows statistics that annually, eighty percent of their students pass Hope’s Peak’s Test.

 

That was the best review center that Hinata could find. The others couldn’t offer any statistics of their passers’ quantity, and he just couldn’t feel the reliability of the alternatives. The one that he chose—he was pretty confident that they can help him, and that’s saying something because he isn’t really a very confident type of person.

 

That’s why he's currently sitting quietly on a chair in the front row farthest to the left. He actually has three high school classmates who enrolled to the same review center—namely, Souda Kazuichi, Kuzuryuu Fuyuhiko, and Pekoyama Peko—but the seat plan had Hinata away from them. It was a case of bad luck—the three of them got assigned to chairs that are together in the second to the last row, and Hinata really was the only one who was separated.

 

Well, to be fair, he wasn’t here to talk with people anyway. He was here to learn, and being separated from his friends probably is the universe’s way of telling him that he should focus on the lessons instead of discreetly trading stories during class time. After all, he knew, that the only superior thing that he has over his friends is his diligence.

 

He's only hardworking, very hardworking, but that’s it.

 

His friends have natural smarts, something that he doesn’t have.

 

Hinata looks at the three of them who are talking among themselves.

 

He sighs. Despite his thoughts, he still can’t deny that maybe he's feeling a little bit left out though…

 

He gets distracted from his slight feeling of loneliness when the classroom is slowly filled with more and more people, yet the seat beside him still won’t be taken by anyone. He hadn’t checked the name of his seatmate when he looked at the seat plan earlier, and he isn’t in the mood to stand up again.

 

Guess he’ll just have to wait…

 

Or maybe shake his curiosity off because again, he reminds himself that he's here to learn, not to make friends.

 

It came to the point where the only empty seat in the classroom was the one beside him. The people sitting near the door already closed it, obviously preparing for the teacher’s arrival even if there still are five minutes left. Hinata wonders why he's even curious about a stranger who happens to be not punctual on the first day of the review—

 

The door that was closed for only maybe three to six seconds burst open, and everyone turns to look because it caused a rather uncomfortably loud sound.

 

It revealed a panting white-haired boy who obviously ran from somewhere to get there, and Hinata was momentarily mesmerized as the stranger walks towards the front row. Hinata knew that his other classmates are staring at the newcomer as well because his appearance just makes him stand out so much.

 

In the whole classroom, he's the only one who possesses hair color that is _that_ bright, and Hinata wonders why even from a distance, the stranger’s gray-green eye color is ridiculously visible. He only realizes that he was unable to stop staring at the stranger when the latter already sat on the chair beside him and run a hand through his white hair.

 

The beads of sweat got pushed away with the gesture, and that small detail was the one that snapped Hinata back to his senses because really, he isn’t supposed to notice something as minor as _that_. Hinata’s new seatmate was still panting—he obviously was worried about arriving late because he evidently ran to get here.

 

It took a couple of minutes for the white-haired boy to get settled down, his panting ceasing, and then he looked at Hinata who had to use all his available willpower to stop himself from gasping in surprise at the suddenness.

 

“Um, excuse me.” The stranger’s voice sounds so smooth. Hinata could have sworn he felt a slight ticklish sensation on his ears. “I just assumed that this is my assigned seat as this is the first available chair that I saw, but… haha, is this right…? Or does someone occupy this already?”

 

The white-haired boy’s statements weren’t exactly short, and it was painfully clear that he was talking to no one but Hinata, but Hinata still felt the urge to check behind him because who knows if another person magically appeared in there. He resists that urge though because he knows that he’ll look stupid if he does.

 

“Nah…” Hinata stupidly replies. “This seat’s available… the only one available in the whole room, actually. So I guess it _is_ supposed to be yours.”

 

The stranger nods, smiling slightly. “Thank you.”

 

Silence befell them after that, and that was when Hinata realized that maybe, he did come here to learn _and_ to make at least one friend, after all. He justifies that thought with the fact that he has to be comfortable with his seatmate for his learning experience to be enjoyable, right?

 

Or at least that’s what Hinata thinks.

 

He can’t immediately set that plan into motion, though.

 

His seatmate seems to be not interested, after all, immediately proceeding to prepare his notebooks and pens—

 

 

The stranger’s notebook.

 

Its design was from Hinata’s favorite game.

 

Hinata finds himself staring at the notebook. There was Naegi Makoto, the protagonist of his favorite game, standing with his signature gentle smile. A few moments had to pass before Hinata realizes that his staring finally caught the attention of his seatmate, and the white-haired boy is now curiously looking at him too.

 

Hinata finds himself slightly flinching, his cheeks suddenly feeling warm because of embarrassment, and he clears his throat. “Uh…” He feels so stupid. “…You played Danganronpa?”

 

His seatmate blinks, surprised, before breaking into another smile, though way bigger than the previous one. “I did! Did you?”

 

“Oh, I did.” Hinata feels like his breath has been punched out of him. He himself doesn’t understand why. “It’s my favorite game, actually. So you like Naegi?”

 

“I love him!” The stranger exclaims, his smile widening even more. “My, this is such good luck! The people in my school aren’t very fond of games, see, so I hadn’t expected to see someone who plays it! I'm Komaeda Nagito. You are?”

 

The game is pretty popular in Hinata’s school. He can’t imagine not having anyone to talk to about his favorite game. Just thinking of the situation—it felt horrible. “I'm Hinata Hajime.” He offers his hand to Komaeda, something that the latter most happily shakes. “I have high school classmates here, and they played the game too. I can introduce you to them if you like.”

 

“Only if I won’t be a bother, of course.” Komaeda replies, still with a smile. “That seems really nice. Having high school classmates here with you and them sharing your interests, I mean. I enrolled here by myself, see, so I really don’t know anyone.”

 

“Oh, it’s a good thing that we talked to each other then.” Hinata says. “I mean, I was looking forward to meeting someone here too, so…”

 

“Oh, you were…” Komaeda slowly nods. “I'm so sorry if I'm disappointing though. I'm pretty sure that you were expecting someone better.”

 

“Hey, now, not at all.” Hinata immediately protests. He knows that he wasn’t really expecting a particular kind of person, but he still knows as well that he isn’t disappointed at the moment even just for a little bit.“It’s okay. You're okay. Don’t say that.”

 

Komaeda airily chuckles. “Sorry! It’s just a bad habit of mine, Hinata-kun. I do try to stop it, of course, as it tends to make me look obnoxious, but old habits die hard, I guess.”

 

“It’s okay, don’t apologize. But really, you're okay. If anything, I think it’s great to meet you.” Hinata lets out a small smile. He doesn’t really smile much, but he hopes he's doing a good job right now. The last thing that he’d want at the moment is to seem unfriendly. “I mean, I really like that game. It’s always nice to find someone to talk with about it.”

 

Komaeda replies, but the sound of his voice gets drowned out by the sudden and loud greeting of the teacher entering the classroom. Hinata wanted to ask him what he said, but Komaeda already straightens himself, ready to listen to the teacher. Hinata decides that it’s time to do the same.

 

“Good morning, class!” Their teacher greets. She was a short lady wearing a pink frilly dress, and if Hinata allows his imagination to wander more, she’d start to look like a bunny. “I'm Usami-sensei, and I’ll be your teacher in Miscellaneous Math. Please turn your booklet to page nineteen and answer the first practice test.”

 

For a while, all that Hinata heard is the sound of rustling paper. Everyone in the class seems so ready to get ahead—even Komaeda who was just airily chuckling earlier looks really serious as he starts computing on his notebook. Hinata realizes that he too should get started if he doesn’t want to be left behind.

 

_Math Practice Test 1._

_20 items. 20 minutes._

 

It seems only a minute is allotted for each item.

 

There was suddenly the strong feeling of pressure. He knows that it’s unreasonable to feel this way, considering that they're here to learn, after all. He knows that they're not being expected to actually know everything in the booklet, but still. He can’t help himself especially when he sees Komaeda in the corner of his eye looking like he never even stopped computing for at least a second.

 

Hinata takes a look at the first question. He doesn’t know why it’s suddenly so difficult to focus.

 

_20 ½ - 11 2/3 =_

  1. _7 2/3_
  2. _8 1/3_
  3. _8 5/6_
  4. _9 1/3_
  5. _9 5/6_



 

It was surprisingly easy.

 

Though Hinata knows that there has to be catch. It’s probably the fact that he’ll compute this manually when there's probably a technique available for it, one that will most probably shorten the time that he plans to allot for that item. Especially considering that he has to use only a minute each… yeah, that must be it.

 

He does the long method anyway because it’s not like he has a better alternative in mind.

 

He converts 20 ½ to 41/2, 11 2/3 to 35/3, performs the operation, converts the resulting improper fraction to mixed form because all the choices are in that form, and he just knows that he took more than a minute when he found out that the correct answer is 8 5/6.

 

Komaeda beside him looks like he already has more than half of the practice test completed.

 

_19/4 =_

  1. _4.75%_
  2. _4.67%_
  3. _47.5%_
  4. _470%_
  5. _475%_



Hinata at least has a shortcut for this. For questions like this, he wouldn’t even have to finish computing. He only has to compute until his incomplete answer looks like _only one_ of the choices, and that will be his answer. Feeling encouraged that he found a rather easy item at least, Hinata continues computing after writing the letter A.

 

\--

 

Hinata’s back suddenly went cold when he sees the question flashed by the projector. It’s not that his seatmates (his friends—they were allowed to choose their own seats) don’t know who his crush is. It’s just that the idea of admitting it somewhere and leaving concrete evidence makes him really nervous.

 

“Don’t worry. Your paper will be strictly confidential.” The teacher announces. “When passing it later to the aisle, make sure to put it face down for privacy purposes.”

 

More groans of protest fill the room. Their teacher has always been a joker anyway, and he got along with the class pretty well, so Hinata supposes that if anything, he should have expected that question to come up instead of otherwise.

 

“Hey,” Kuzuryuu beside him nudges him. “You gonna write something?”

 

“Yeah, of course.” Hinata replies. “You?”

 

Kuzuryuu just shrugs.

 

Deep down, Hinata knew that what their teacher said about noncompliance is a bluff, but for some reason, he kind of doesn’t want to ruin the fun too. Maybe it’s because he also knows deep down that their papers really will be kept confidential, no matter how suspicious-looking their teacher is…

 

“Alright! Pass your papers!” The teacher announces, and Hinata immediately panics because he hasn’t written anything for the last item yet.

 

Hurriedly and sloppily, he writes ‘ _Komaeda Nagito_ ’ and passes it face down to Kuzuryuu beside him. This seems so insignificant, but despite that thought, Hinata’s heart won’t stop beating really fast. The cold sensation on his back earlier transformed to heat as soon as he wrote Komaeda’s name, and he just wants to curse because really, he shouldn’t be getting this worked up over something.

 

Their teacher happily gets the paper that was passed to him. He seems pleased as he sifts through them, and he shortly positions himself in front of the microphone again.

 

‘ _What's he gonna do?_ ’

 

‘ _I swear I'm gonna punch him on the face if he reveals something._ ’

 

‘ _Sir, I thought this was confidential!_ ’

 

It seems that he heard that last statement as he immediately scans the room before speaking. “It _is_ confidential. Relax. I haven’t even done anything yet. Let’s see who the heartthrobs in this section are…”

 

He shuffles the papers, and Hinata’s nervousness just won’t cease. The teacher stops at a particular paper, still with a wide smile, before speaking in front of the microphone. “Who's Pekoyama Peko?”

 

Hinata hears someone cheering. There was someone pointing Pekoyama too, and Hinata immediately looks at Kuzuryuu who was beside him. The shorter boy was glaring at him, almost as if wordlessly asking why Hinata was looking, and Hinata just rolls his eyes. ‘ _Don’t act like it wasn’t you who wrote her name_ ’ was what Hinata wants to convey.

 

The teacher shuffles the papers again. “How about Hinata Hajime?”

 

The sound of cheering was nearer now. Souda on his other side was clapping him on the back, and Kuzuryuu wasn’t looking surprised at all. Hinata _is_ surprised though. He hadn’t really expected anyone to write his name.

 

The teacher smiles at Hinata before returning to the papers. “Komaeda Nagito?”

 

Hinata feels his heart skipping a beat the moment he heard Komaeda’s name. He turns around to check Komaeda’s reaction, and he was glad that he did. Komaeda looked honestly surprised as his own circle of friends cheered around him, and he even had a visible blush on his face.

 

Why is he even surprised? He's so good-looking and smart… it shouldn’t even be surprising anymore that someone wrote his name. Hinata wonders exactly how many wrote Komaeda’s name in this class though. He kind of gets the brief need to find them all. He doesn’t know if he’ll do something, but he knows that he wantsto find them.

 

The teacher shuffles the papers again, a contented smile on his face. “Alright, next meeting, I'm going to tell you guys the ones who managed to get three or more admirers. I’ll also be saying who had the most votes. This is a great stress reliever, huh?”

 

Komaeda’s friends cheer again, and he starts looking even more embarrassed. Hinata and he briefly make eye contact, and Hinata tries his best to ignore his growing embarrassment. He just flashes Komaeda a thumbs-up, and Komaeda makes a confused face, shrugging. If Hinata were to guess what he might mean, it’s probably ‘ _I don’t even know what's going on._ ’

 

And that’s alright for now.

 

Hinata still hasn’t decided if he’ll let Komaeda know about what he feels. For one, their friendship is really beautiful, something that Hinata really values, and he doesn’t want to risk ruining it by suddenly confessing out of the blue.

 

It’s good like this anyway. Being really close friends who sometimes hang out during free time—it’s good, all good.

 

\--

 

“Alright, class, time’s up.” Usami-sensei announces.

 

Hinata mutters a soft curse under his breath because he has five unanswered items left. He just writes random letters from A to E, hoping that he’ll get lucky at least. He has a twenty percent chance to be right in each item, after all…

 

“Exchange notebooks with your seatmate!” Hinata turns to face Komaeda, and the latter smiles at him. As for him, he's currently feeling embarrassed because exchanging notebooks means that someone else will see his incompetence. There's also the fact that Komaeda looks pretty smart—that’s something that Hinata can already feel despite the fact that they just met.

 

“I was surprised, haha!” Komaeda says as he hands his notebook to Hinata. Hinata takes it and gives Komaeda his. “I didn’t think that we’d answer something right off the bat!”

 

“Well, they're trying to use as much time as possible, I guess.” Hinata replies. He's still nervous. He hopes his result won’t be that bad. He hopes that he won’t have to look stupid.

 

“That will be great! I really am looking forward to learning a lot, after all. I heard this review center’s really effective.”

 

“Yeah… eighty percent of passers is really something.”

 

“Right! I think so as well! It will be really great if we pass. Hope’s Peak is the best university in the whole country.”

 

“And being its graduate promises success, right?”

 

Because of this simple talk, Hinata felt nervous because if he doesn’t pass Hope’s Peak’s test, he just knows that he rather rot somewhere in despair instead of study in a different school.

 

\--

 

“Oh, we get an hour of lunch time, huh.” Komaeda turns to him as the other students of their class gets up to leave. “I hadn’t checked the schedule given to us. I wanted to be surprised, haha!”

 

“Well, of course we have to have lunch time. They can’t let us starve.” Hinata himself gets up from his seat and runs a hand on his clothes. “Would you like to go with me and my friends? I did say I’d introduce you to them, right?”

 

“I hope I don’t intrude on anything though.” Komaeda says as he follows Hinata to the outside of the classroom. “If ever it’s best for me to leave, just tell, okay? I promise I won’t be offended, Hinata-kun.”

 

“It’s really okay to go with us.” Hinata sees Souda and the others waiting for him. He gives them a wave, which causes Komaeda to turn to them curiously with a small smile. When they were close enough for conversation, Hinata clears his throat and gestures to his friends. “Komaeda, this is Souda, Kuzuryuu, and Pekoyama. They're my high school friends. Guys, this is Komaeda, my seatmate.”

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Komaeda greets, his warm smile widening. “Thanks for having me.”

 

As his friends greet Komaeda back and offer a fuller introduction, Hinata wonders if he can be a good enough companion and not make Komaeda feel like an outsider.

 

\--

 

It was probably irrational and naïve to think, but Hinata felt like he has known Komaeda for so long already. They’ve only been talking for five days now, but he felt strangely comfortable being around his new friend. Something about Komaeda is just so soothing—it’s probably his voice or maybe his smile, though Hinata can guess that his mere presence is a plausible factor too.

 

“Are you sure it’s okay to go with just me?” Komaeda asks during their fifth lunch break together. “What about Souda-kun and the others?”

 

“Don’t worry. I'm sure they won’t mind.” Hinata replies as they seated themselves at a table at the room’s corner. Inspecting his words more closely, he knows that Kuzuryuu and Pekoyama probably won’t mind, but Souda was a different business altogether. He can almost hear him shouting something like ‘ _Why leave me there, buddy!? Being a third wheel ain’t nice!_ ’, but he shrugs that thought off his mind. “By the way, I never asked you, but have you watched Danganronpa’s anime?”

 

“Oh, I did!” Komaeda nods. “It was okay as a standalone, I suppose, but I think it’s really bad if compared to the game. I do appreciate the effort though. It’s actually pretty good if you see it first then play the game after instead of the other way around.”

 

“I see.” Hinata nods as well. “I guess I was pretty harsh to it, now that I think about it… After watching it, I was so mad because I felt like they ruined the game.”

 

“Well, I can’t blame you for thinking that way!” Komaeda giggles. “I saw a lot of backlash in the discussion boards online, actually. So you're not the only one.”

 

“Maybe I should watch it again… try to see it in a different light or something…”

 

“Haha, well, tell me what you think once you’ve watched it again!”

 

\--

 

Now that Hinata thinks about it, maybe the reason why he felt instantly close with Komaeda is because they had the same interests. They played the same games (even the obscure ones—Hinata was really surprised), watched the same anime, and listened to the same music.

 

That was just how it started anyway.

 

Then he got used to talking to Komaeda and their topics shifted from games and anime to actually things about themselves. The conversational ‘ _What's it like over at your school?_ ’ or the simple ‘ _what's your favorite color?_ ’ and then that certain time—

 

‘ _Komaeda, have you seen this post yet?_ ’ Hinata sent that one time.

 

Komaeda’s reply arrived quickly. ‘ _I did! But it’s still really funny up until now!_ ’

 

‘ _Did you see the videos that some guy created based on that post? They're pretty funny too._ ’

 

‘ _Oh, it’s the first time I heard of that! Link, please? :)_ ’

 

Hinata wasn’t actually feeling pretty fine that day. He was rereading the lessons that were taught to them during the review and computing again some of the problems only to find out that he has forgotten how to solve some of them. His inadequacy almost always shows up to remind him that it exists even in the simplest tasks.

 

He found it upsetting how he forgot something that he learned a few days ago, coupled with the fact that Hope’s Peak’s test is in four months. If he was as stupid as to forget something that he has learned a few days ago, then it isn’t a long stretch to assume that within four months, all his learning will have disintegrated into the air already, and the payment that his family used for the review center will be for nothing. He’ll be part of the center’s twenty percent, the unfortunate minority that failed to prove themselves, and he’ll never make his way to Hope’s Peak—

 

‘ _Hinata-kun, you still there?_ ’

 

Komaeda’s second message snaps him out of his thoughts.

 

The reason why he was watching those ‘funny’ videos in the first place was because that was his poor attempt to cheer himself up. That’s also the reason why he started a conversation with Komaeda because he always finds himself in a good mood whenever he does.

 

Right now though, his bad mood seems strong, and he can’t fight it—

 

‘ _Sorry, Komaeda. Can I link it to you some other time?_ ’

 

‘ _Oh, it’s okay! Is Hinata-kun going already?_ ’

 

‘ _No. It’s just that, if it’s okay, can we talk about some deep and sad shit? I'm feeling kind of down._ ’

 

‘Kind of’ was an understatement.

 

Right now, it’d be more accurate to say ‘ _I'm feeling like I can’t do anything right and even the easiest tasks that everyone else must be able to do are difficult for me_ ’, but he doesn’t want to trouble Komaeda with something like that.

 

‘ _Of course, Hinata-kun. You can always talk to me about anything. Did something happen?_ ’

 

Hinata started to regret his choices.

 

Komaeda is the only person that he can talk with and feel like everything is funny, even the corniest things, yet right now, he already has tainted their chatbox with some of his negativity. Maybe it’s not too late to backpedal and say that he was just joking and go back to talking about text posts or web comics.

 

But he stares at Komaeda’s message, and somehow, he can’t bring himself to lie.

 

‘ _I'm just feeling really bad about myself. This usually happens and it will be gone before I know it, but right now, the feeling is really strong. I'm so sorry that I had to interrupt our conversation. I know it’s better to talk about funny things, so I'm really, really sorry._ ’

 

‘ _It’s okay, please don’t apologize. :)_

_Do you want me to call, Hinata-kun? Or would you be more comfortable to talk here, after all?_ ’

 

Hinata actually thinks of that. He doesn’t mind telling Komaeda no matter which way, but the idea of having to explain audibly and hear himself admitting his incompetence _out loud_ —he doesn’t know if he will be able to put up with it.

 

‘ _I'm okay with just talking here._ ’

 

‘ _Alright, Hinata-kun. So do you know what caused this now? You did say that it usually happens, but something has to be a trigger, right?_ ’

 

The urge to take back everything that he said turns stronger. Now that he thinks about it, maybe he really shouldn’t have told Komaeda, after all. Watching him during the review sessions, Hinata already knows now that he really is smart. Komaeda will just think that he's stupid for asking something so easy.

 

‘ _It’s just that, earlier,_ ’ Hinata starts typing anyway. Komaeda seems so nice, after all. Maybe he wouldn’t think of Hinata that way? ‘ _Well, I was solving some of the problems that we already discussed during the review._ ’

 

Komaeda wasn’t typing at all, so Hinata guesses that that was his cue to continue. ‘ _I wasn’t able to solve some of the problems, haha. That’s all. It’s really shallow, right? I just can’t believe that I'm stupid enough to forget something that was already taught to me. Especially since it was taught really well, so I'm obviously just the one lacking._ ’

 

The icon showing three blinking dots to indicate that Komaeda is typing a reply shows up. Hinata’s nervousness starts to grow because he wonders what Komaeda might say. ‘ _Haha, you're really stupid, Hinata-kun_ ’ or maybe ‘ _Seriously? The problems taught to us are really easy, you know!_ ’

 

Those words will hurt, but if they do come, Hinata can’t really blame Komaeda. After all, Hinata would say that to himself too.

 

Komaeda’s taking too long to reply. Hinata’s feeling of discomfort agonizingly slowly moves from his chest to his stomach with each second that passes by. Is Komaeda typing up a long and hurtful tirade, mocking Hinata’s incompetence—

 

‘ _First of all, I think you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself, Hinata-kun._ ’

 

Hinata’s mind temporarily stops because he wasn’t expecting that reply.

 

‘ _See, it’s normal to forget things from time to time. It doesn’t mean that you're stupid or lacking or something like that, especially when it’s someone as full of hope as you! You were just having a little trouble, that’s all. But I know that you'll remember it if you're just given a cue that rings a bell._

_And of course, it’s normal to be saddened by that too. You're not shallow or anything like that at all. I know that Hinata-kun is working hard, so he values the things that he has learned._

_But still, this goes back to what I firstly said. You still shouldn’t be too hard on yourself._

_It’s okay to feel bad, but you shouldn’t think that you're stupid._ ’

 

Hinata doesn’t know why he's feeling a slight prickle on the corner of his eyes. He's just so glad that he's alone right now in his room, tucked under his blanket with his laptop just like the loser that he is, with no one to see his ugly weakness.

 

‘ _You're too nice. I'm not that great, you know._ ’

 

‘ _I believe that Hinata-kun is capable of having hope that shines so brightly :)_

_I know I'm not much, but maybe I can try solving some of the problems that Hinata-kun has forgotten about? I probably won’t be able to help, but I'm hoping that I can at least ring a bell._ ’

 

‘ _Are you referencing Danganronpa now?_

_Also, hold on a moment. I’ll type one here._ ’

 

‘ _Haha! Well, Danganronpa or not, I still believe what I said!_

_Okay, I’ll wait :)_ ’

 

That was the first time that Hinata has decided to taint their chatbox with his negativity.

 

However, as selfish as it might sound, he decided that he doesn’t really feel sorry for doing so because he felt that that time, he and Komaeda got even closer than they already were.

 

\--

 

The last day of the review, the review center provided a mock Hope’s Peak’s Test so that the students will be able to get a feel of the ‘ _Hope’s Peak’s Test’s experience_ ’. It’s not entirely accurate though because they were allowed to choose where to sit, and they were already told that during the real deal, Hope’s Peak will be the one to assign the students their testing areas. Hinata wasn’t complaining though because it was reassuring to sit beside Komaeda, a person that he has associated with comfort and relaxation.

 

Even if the test that they're going to take at the moment isn’t the real deal, Hinata can’t help being nervous, so it was really helpful that Komaeda is just there sitting beside him.

 

One-fourth of their wrong answers will be deducted from their correct answers, just like how it would be in Hope’s Peak’s Test, and Hinata is almost tempted to leave everything blank. However, he knows that that will be stupid, and so, fighting the uncomfortable and almost painful sensation in his stomach, he grabs his pencil and starts writing.

 

\--

 

“So this is the last time that we’ll be seeing each other, huh.” Komaeda comments after taking a small bite from the ice cream on the cone in his hand. After the mock exam, the two of them decided to hang out in the convenience store near the review center for a while. “I really had fun, you know. I'm so glad that I met Hinata-kun.”

 

“Hey, why are you saying stuff like this all of a sudden?” Hinata replies, ignoring the growing heat on his face. “This isn’t the last time that we’ll meet. We’ll still see each other during Hope’s Peak’s Test, and…”

 

“…Hm?” Komaeda urges him to continue, his eyes full of curiosity.

 

As for Hinata, he wonders if it’s alright to continue his sentence.

 

“…and we’ll still be schoolmates in Hope’s Peak.” He continues anyway. “So you shouldn’t speak like we’re saying goodbye permanently now. There's also the fact that we’re friends online too, and we have each other’s numbers, right? That’s why… I'm sure that… we’ll see each other again.”

 

A momentary look of surprise flashes through Komaeda’s face before it gets quickly replaced with one of his usual heartwarming smiles. He nods, his smile widening even more as he replies. “That’s one more reason why I should try hard then. I certainly will pass Hope’s Peak’s Test so that I won’t be breaking this promise.”

 

“A-Alright.” Hinata lets out his pinky finger. This is really childish, but he doesn’t really care anymore. Or so he says, but he just knows that his face just got a little hotter after that. “I’ll promise too, then. Let’s try even harder from now on.”

 

Komaeda nods, tangling his pinky finger with Hinata’s.

 

The moment Komaeda smiled at him and their fingers touched, that was when Hinata knew that he already has fallen hard.

 

\--

 

Back at the present time, Hinata already is a freshman of Hope’s Peak University for more than half a semester already. Suddenly just putting it this way, he knows that it’s rather anticlimactic, but he can’t really bring himself to mind at the moment.

 

He knew that he has always aimed and wholeheartedly wanted to study in Hope’s Peak, but now that he has gotten in, he found out that it’s even more difficult to get out and graduate. He feels like he's learning three months of high school lessons in just one session in college, and he just knows that if ever he tries to not study even just for one test, he’ll certainly fail without a chance of redemption.

 

“Hinata-kun, there you are.” Hinata hears the voice that he has grown accustomed to because of the countless phone calls that they had. He looks up anyway despite already knowing without fail that it’s no one but Komaeda, and he doesn’t stop the small smile that wants to show up when he finally sees Komaeda’s face. “Your next class is already Math, right?”

 

“Yep.” Hinata nods at the chair beside him which Komaeda promptly takes. “You too?”

 

Komaeda nods as well, smiling. “We can head to the lecture hall together then.”

 

“That sounds like a good idea.” Hinata says as he slides his notebook towards Komaeda. “I don’t get this item.”

 

Komaeda promptly takes a pen from his pocket and inspects the item that Hinata pointed. “Let’s see…” Komaeda stares at the item for a while longer before speaking again. “Well, first of all, Hinata-kun, you should remember that the range of all logarithmic functions is the set of all real numbers.”

 

As Komaeda continues to talk about the item that Hinata asked about, as bad as it may seem, Hinata finds himself not paying attention to what he's saying. Suddenly, it was difficult to notice anything else that is not Komaeda’s voice, and what even makes that worse is that Hinata only notices his voice—the soft lulling feel that Komaeda’s voice always has—but not what Komaeda is saying per se.

 

He wonders if he's looking creepy right now, just staring at Komaeda while the latter speaks.       Komaeda’s voice has always had that hypnotic feel anyway, almost like a meditation CD, and always, without fail, Hinata will be relaxed just by listening—

 

“And that’s how you'll solve—Hinata-kun, are you still listening?” It takes Hinata a good five seconds before he realizes that Komaeda isn’t talking about logarithmic functions anymore. It takes him another five seconds to feel like an idiot and wish that he isn’t evidently blushing at the moment.

 

“Y-Yeah.” Hinata clears his throat as an effort to get himself together. “I'm just a little distracted.”

 

“Is something on your mind, Hinata-kun?”

 

“Not at all.” Hinata shakes his head. “I'm just… a bit tired out because I'm still adjusting, I guess. Even if we’ve already reached more than half of the semester, I'm still not that used to the university life.”

 

And that’s not a lie.

 

Though that’s not really what's distracting him at the moment.

 

“I see.” Komaeda nods. “That’s alright, Hinata-kun. We’re actually expected to not be done with the adjustment period yet for two semesters, so it’s really okay.”

 

“How about you though? Are you adjusting well?”

 

“Oh.” Komaeda smiles. “I'm adjusting better than I anticipated. Despite myself, I'm actually getting along well with my course mates, and I was lucky enough to get professors who actually teach clearly… My classes are conveniently in buildings near each other too, so I don’t have to rush much.”

 

“That’s really great.” Hinata nods. “What about your apartment? You comfy there?”

 

“Yeah! It’s not too big, but it’s more than enough for one person. I find it easy to clean too because of that.”

 

“You don’t feel lonely? Not having a roommate and all?”

 

“I don’t really mind. Though I suppose having a roommate has perks too, huh? Your roommate is Souda-kun, right?”

 

“Yeah.” Hinata replies. “You're right that it _has_ perks, but of course, there are downsides too. I mean, it’s Souda, after all.”

 

Komaeda just giggles.

 

Hinata clears his throat again.

 

He doesn’t know what possessed him that instant because suddenly, he can’t stop himself from saying, “I have something to tell you.”

 

Komaeda curiously tilts his head.

 

“You know, Komaeda.” He takes a deep breath. “I really like you.”

 

\--

 

It was a rather uneventful and normal night that one time. Hinata was just scrolling through his news feed like he always does, occasionally ‘liking’ and ‘sharing’ some posts that he finds entertaining enough, as he waits for Komaeda to go online. Ever since he has gotten close to Komaeda, he realized that he never really closed Komaeda’s chatbox anymore. He just leaves it there as a reminder that he's waiting for someone… no matter how cheesy or corny that sounds.

 

His peace gets immediately shattered in a matter of seconds when his class’s group chatbox suddenly pops into screen and bustles with activity. One message was the catalyst, particularly one that Souda sent, and it was buried as soon as it was received by their classmates’ incoming replies.

 

‘ _The Hope’s Peak Results are out!?_ ’

 

‘ _Seriously!?_ ’

 

‘ _WHERE?_ ’

 

The moment Hinata registers what the commotion is all about, his hands start to produce cold sweat accompanied with the feeling of his heart beating faster than he can ever remember. His stomach started feeling like it was repeatedly punched too, something that he doesn’t really quite understand.

 

‘ _Link?_ ’ He manages to type his short query. More than five people pastes the link that he was asking for, and he clicks it as soon as he sees, wasting no time. The page doesn’t load as quickly as he wants—after all, thousands of students from all over the country are probably trying to access it at this moment.

 

The discomfort in his stomach and chest worsens even more when five minutes already has passed and the page hasn’t loaded yet. He clicks the refresh button, trying to keep his hands as steady as possible. His nervousness is not helped by his classmates’ agitated messages in the group chatbox.

 

‘ _GUYS, I DIDN’T PASS!_ ’

 

‘ _I’M ABOUT TO CRY._ ’

 

‘ _THE PASSERS ARE SO FEW!_ ’

 

The repeated beeping that is supposed to notify Hinata for the incoming messages suddenly feels like an incessant mockery. His head starts to pound as the beeping continues, to the point that it seems like the sound has started to reside on his head.

 

‘ _Souda, you passed!_ ’

 

‘ _Kuzuryuu and Pekoyama too!_ ’

 

‘ _Hey, thanks!_ ’

 

Hinata can feel his desperation the moment he hits the ‘refresh’ button again. He clicks on the chatbox and sends a fast ‘ _Hey, guys, can you look at mine too? I can’t access the site._ ’

 

‘ _It’s actually really slow, to be honest. The site probably can’t handle the sudden activity._ ’

 

‘ _But I’ll try._ ’

 

Hinata didn’t quickly realize that there already are slight tears on the corner of his eyes. He also doesn’t understand why he'll be crying right now when he doesn’t even know yet if he passed or not. One thing is for sure though—he’d feel like crying either way.

 

The site finally loads. Hinata thought that the discomfort that his body is causing him will finally cease with that, but he was wrong. If anything, the nervousness just worsened—his heart started beating even faster, and his stomach started protesting even harder.

 

‘ _Hinata!_ ’

 

‘ _Hinata, you passed!_ ’

 

‘ _You passed in Economics!_ ’

 

Hinata blinks at the messages. They're increasing even more as he stares, words of congratulations and compliments in abundance, and that was when he finally accepted that he's actually crying. His classmate provides a screenshot too, but he still feels the need to continue accessing the site.

 

It was such funny timing—his friend telling him the result when the page finally decided to load.

 

‘ _Thank you so much. Why is your internet so fast?_ ’ Hinata sends.

 

‘ _Nah! It takes a while too! Congratulations, by the way!_ ’

 

Hinata clicks on the ‘H’ surnames, expecting a sudden drop down of the list, but he realizes that he's mistaken when the page starts to load again. At this point, his nervousness starts to quickly diminish, being replaced bit by bit by annoyance.

 

‘ _I still can’t access the page._ ’

 

‘ _It’s okay, you already know the result anyway!_ ’

 

‘ _I still want to see it firsthand, of course. By the way, can you check my friend’s result?_ ’

 

Hinata remembers to return to Komaeda’s chatbox, sending a fast ‘ _Hey, the results are out!_ ’ He sends the same messages as a text to Komaeda’s phone too to be sure. He would leave a missed call too, but he doesn’t really want to be creepy by attempting three different types of communication.

 

‘ _Sure! What's your friend’s name?_ ’

 

‘ _Komaeda Nagito. Thanks._ ’

 

The list of the passers with the ‘H’ surname finally loads. Hinata’s glad that his reason is still intact because instead of scrolling through the hellishly long and dizzying list, he decides to use the ‘find’ feature of his browser. He types ‘Hinata’, and he immediately found his name.

 

That was when he allowed himself to get up from his seat and jump repeatedly, his mom asking worriedly downstairs what the matter is, and he remembers to run down the stairs to tell his parents the good news. He didn’t mind if he looks funny with tears running down his eyes as he practically tackles his parents to the ground with a hug.

 

That moment, he knew that he actually felt proud of himself.

 

“Mom, dad,” Hinata tightens his hug around them. “I passed Hope’s Peak’s Test.”

 

\--

 

‘ _Hey, Hinata, you still there?_ ’

 

‘ _Hey?_ ’

 

‘ _Anyway, your friend passed too. He took Chemical Engineering._ ’

 

‘ _Lol, seems Hinata is out at the moment._ ’

 

‘ _Let me tell you guys something about Hinata’s friend. He was our classmate during our review and I think Hinata has a crush on him, lol._ ’

 

‘ _Seriously? Is that why Hinata’s always online? Having a long distance crush and all._ ’

 

‘ _Komaeda Nagito, right?_ ’

 

‘ _I looked him up._ ’

 

‘ _He's pretty good-looking._ ’

 

‘ _Guys, you do know Hinata will see our messages when he gets back, right?_ ’

 

‘ _Nah, it’s okay. I bet he's too happy right now to care. Passing and all._ ’

 

‘ _True._ ’

 

‘ _Lol, Hinata, now’s a perfect time to confess! The both of you probably are in the best of your moods!_ ’

 

\--

 

‘ _Hinata-kun, the results are out. :)_ ’

 

‘ _Oh, wait, you already posted a status. We both passed!_ ’

 

‘ _My phone got stolen yesterday, by the way, so if you tried to text me about the results, I didn’t see it…_ ’

 

‘ _Ahh, I was really nervous that I’ll have to break our promise ;u; I didn’t really find the test easy, see… I felt so stupid especially when I saw everyone else and they all really looked like they knew what they were doing! I was so intimidated, haha!_ ’

 

‘ _Oh, well, I'm really relieved now. To be honest, I never really was able to sleep properly from the time we made that promise. I kept on worrying about not keeping my word. There's also the fact that I really, really, really want to study in Hope’s Peak too. I actually think that I don’t deserve to go to college if I don’t pass their test, haha!_ ’

 

‘ _But hey, we both passed :) I'm so happy right now._ ’

 

‘ _I'm excited to see you and be your schoolmate!_ ’

 

‘ _Anyway!!! Did you know that Danganronpa will be getting a second game? There's a character that looks like me, haha! Only, he's wearing glasses and I think he's shorter than me if ever he will be a real person. You should check the trailer out, Hinata-kun!_ ’

 

\--

 

“Ah…” Komaeda blinks, an impossible to not notice blush spreading across his cheeks. “Hahaha… Really?”

 

The fact that Hinata possibly royally fucked up still isn’t sinking in. He himself doesn’t know what crossed his mind—there they were, talking about Mathematics, college life and if they were adjusting well or not to it, and Hinata suddenly decides to throw a bomb this big.

 

But again, he still doesn’t feel like he did something wrong.

 

Maybe he’ll realize it once Komaeda finally decides to refuse any form of association with him.

 

“Yeah.” Hinata nods. This wasn’t how he imagined his confession would go. Everything was way more romantic in his imagination. There was even a scene in his mind where they were sitting under a tree in a park on a tropical island somewhere, or that one where they were in the beach building a sand castle together… he never imagined that they would be in this too plain cafeteria filled with a lot of tired and noisy people and that he’d just say his confession unceremoniously out of the blue. “I'm, uh, suddenly embarrassed, but I mean it. Are you creeped out?”

 

“Why would I be creeped out?” The blush on Komaeda’s face was still there, but it was evident that he was trying to keep his smile on. “I mean, I actually like you too, so…”

 

“Seriously?” Maybe Hinata’s finally hallucinating. His mind was shocked by the sheer lack of being romantic in this situation that it’s starting to make things up. “You mean it?”

 

“Yeah…” Komaeda awkwardly giggles. “I mean, I even wrote your name on that Math quiz last week…”

 

“Really?” Hinata knows that he has to say something more than the variants of ‘seriously?’ or ‘really?’, but he can’t stop. He's still not thoroughly convinced that he's not imagining things at the moment, after all. “Whoa, I mean, I wrote your name too… I never expected this at all.”

 

“You wrote my name too?” It seems Komaeda can’t believe the situation too anyway. If Hinata were to be asked, it is indeed a bit too surreal. “Haha, I didn’t expect this at all too… but I assure you that I'm not creeped out…”

 

“Really?” Hinata feels like slapping himself for saying that again. “I mean, we’re friends, so… I was really scared that you'd get mad that I'm, I don’t know, ruining our friendship or something like that by having this kind of feelings for you…”

 

“Not at all! If anything, I think it’s a little cute, haha…”

 

Hinata can notice that both of them aren’t used to this kind of thing. The awkwardness was just too thick in the air that it feels like he can cut through it with something. “Well, I really thought you'd reject me. I was getting ready to apologize, to be honest.”

 

“Haha, is that so? I actually think Hinata-kun’s really handsome and nice, you know.”

 

“Really?” There it was again. “I don’t think so, but thanks…”

 

“You're welcome, Hinata-kun… so, um,” Komaeda bites his lower lip, a sheepish smile all over his features. “Do you wanna hug?”

 

Hinata doesn’t verbally reply. Instead, he just leans in and wraps Komaeda with his arms as tightly as he can. Komaeda immediately reciprocates the gesture, even leaning his chin on Hinata’s shoulder.  Komaeda was so warm and comforting—if Hinata were to compare the sensation that he's currently feeling to something, he’d say that it’s like hugging a really expensive pillow, only, even way better.

 

It feels like he was meant to be here in this position, hugging Komaeda this tightly, even if their circumstances wasn’t what he exactly expected.

 

“Are you sure you're not creeped out?” Hinata says softly as he leans his own chin on Komaeda’s shoulder as well. He feels Komaeda shaking his head, and the ends of his white hair tickles Hinata’s skin.

 

“Of course. I really don’t see a reason to be creeped out, you know.” Komaeda speaking in this proximity makes Hinata shiver just a bit. “Being liked back by Hinata-kun is straight from a sweet dream… That’s why the only thing that I'm feeling right now is happiness.”

 

“Alright, me too…” Hinata replies. “I think this is too good to be true… The moment you entered the classroom during our review, I already noticed how good-looking you are… and I never ever would have guessed that you'd like _me_ of all people. But I'm not complaining. I'm really happy too.”

 

Komaeda slightly pulls away and cups Hinata’s face, looking him in the eyes. Komaeda’s face carried a flattered expression, almost as if what's going on is an honor far too great for him, but Hinata knows that the only person that he’ll like this much, try as he might, will just be Komaeda and no one else.

 

“Thank you, Hinata-kun.”

 

\--

 

“I'm back—whoa, whoa, whoa!”

 

Hinata makes a face, furrowing his eyebrows at his roommate. “What's up, Souda?”

 

“Don’t ‘what's up’ me!” Souda exclaims as he shuts the door behind him. “Fucking creepy… why were you smiling earlier?”

 

“What the—so I'm not allowed to smile now? Weren’t you the same guy who was telling me that I always have a scowl on?”

 

“Yeah, and that’s precisely why it’s creepy!” Souda was staring at him, suspicious, as he walks towards his bed. Their dorm room had two beds near each other, separated by one bedside table, and Hinata thinks that that was a rather convenient setup because that way, he’d be able to talk to his roommate comfortably even while the both of them are resting on their beds. “Why were you smiling anyway!?”

 

“I'm just gonna ignore that you think me smiling is creepy.” Hinata rolls his eyes. “Okay, listen up. Something great has happened, see.”

 

“Yeah? And that is?”

 

Hinata must have smiled again because Souda cringes. He then decides that he doesn’t give a fuck about Souda’s reactions anymore. He’ll smile because he thinks he has a reason to. “Komaeda likes me back.”

 

Souda’s eyes widen before he himself smiles, nodding. “Ohhh! I see! I understand now! Wow, okay, I’d be smiling like a fucking creep too if I were you! How did this happen?”

 

“Well, we were together earlier, and it was so funny because I really just said what I feel out of the blue.” Hinata can feel that maybe he's smiling a little bit too wide, after all. He doesn’t stop himself anyway. “I mean, I myself don’t know why I did what I did, but I did, and it caused something great, so I'm really happy right now.”

 

“Yeah, I'm happy for you too, man.” Souda leans in to bump his fist against Hinata’s before resting back on his bed. “So did you fuck or make out or something? Tell me the good details!”

 

“No, we just hugged! Souda, I swear to god—”

 

“Just hugged? Dude, are you guys in elementary school? Last time I checked, we’re in college!”

 

“Okay, look, shut up, okay?” Hinata frowns. “I’ll never do something like that to him!”

 

“Never?”

 

“I mean, unless he wants to, of course, but hell, we just confessed to each other earlier, and I'm willing to take things slowly if that’s what will make him more comfortable.” Hinata still has his frown on. “Not everyone’s gonna rush to sex, you know. It’s not because we have the mentality of elementary school students.”

 

“Okay, fine.” Souda rolls his eyes. “So what else happened?”

 

Hinata’s frown instantly disappears as he tries to remember the events of earlier. “Well, to be honest, I think the two of us were a little bit too awkward, but it’s okay, I guess. I mean, we kept on going like ‘really?’ or ‘seriously?’ and he was nervously chuckling or giggling or some shit like that all the while, but it’s really okay, I didn’t mind.”

 

“Okay, so did you at least grab dinner or something after that?”

 

“Well, not really… We didn’t really do anything differently.”

 

“Weak!” Souda teases. “Man, if I were you, I really would have brought him here in my dorm to have some fun… if you know what I mean!”

 

“Shut up.” Hinata would have thrown his alarm clock at Souda if only it wouldn’t break if he did. “At least the person that I like likes me back _and_ knows that I exist.”

 

“Aw, man! You went there!” Souda exaggeratedly clutches at his chest, as if saying that he's pained, before throwing a pillow at Hinata. “Damn you, dude!”

 

\--

 

“Ah, haha, my most favorite part of Danganronpa’s second game is when Naegi-kun shows up during the last chapter and the epilogue.” Komaeda says as they hang out one time in the park while sitting on a bench. “Naegi-kun’s so hopeful—he really is worthy of being the Super High School Level Hope!”

 

“True. He's a really optimistic guy, huh?”

 

If Hinata were to be asked, nothing really changed after their confession to each other. Well, there's hanging out more frequently, but aside from that, there really is none. They never brought it up again too, and Hinata can’t help worrying about the possibility that Komaeda’s ‘like’ and his ‘like’ might carry two different meanings.

 

Hinata knows that he wants to be in a relationship with Komaeda, kiss him, hold hands with him, and do whatever usual couples do, but what if what Komaeda meant by saying that he likes Hinata too is that Hinata is a nice person, a great friend, or enjoyable company?

 

Hinata wants to clarify things, but if he were to be truthful, he doesn’t really know how. Not only would it be embarrassing if it happens that they have indeed misunderstood each other, but it would also be quite painful for him, and he doesn’t know if he's ready for that…

 

But hey, the fact that they're hanging out more frequently now, even if that’s such a small detail, must mean at least something, right?

 

Hinata doesn’t know if he has a point or if he's just trying to convince himself now.

 

But then again, there's also the fact that Komaeda replied with saying that he wrote Hinata’s name in that Math activity when Hinata confessed to him, so maybe they got the same meaning of ‘like’, after all? There's the worry that the word ‘crush’ is so dynamic though that sometimes it means that one wants to bang the person referred to but it can also mean that one just simply finds the person attractive.

 

Komaeda never really mentioned ‘crushes’ before anyway, aside from Danganronpa’s Naegi, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya’s Koizumi, Katekyo! Hitman Reborn’s Yamamoto… Hinata doesn’t know if the fact that all of them are fictional characters is helpful…

 

“Hinata-kun… are you okay?” The next thing that Hinata knows, Komaeda is already looking at him worriedly. Seems he has spaced out with his thoughts too much already. “What's wrong?”

 

“Nothing, nothing.” He lies. Hinata felt the need to force a smile as an effort to look just a little bit more convincing at least. “My mind was just floating. Carry on, I'm listening now.”

 

“Well, I actually asked you something…” Komaeda shows him a sheepish smile. Hinata wonders if it’s normal to feel guilty because of spacing out. “I wanted to ask what you thought about the second game’s plot twist… but it’s okay, we can talk about that some other time. If something’s bothering Hinata-kun at the moment, I'm willing to listen.”

 

“Ah, no, it’s really okay.” Hinata widens his smile, but Komaeda didn’t look convinced at all. “Everything’s okay. You shouldn’t worry. Sorry for not paying attention earlier. Anyway, the second game’s plot twist—I really didn’t expect the second game’s plot twist. I never would have guessed that the characters would turn out to be the Remnants of Despair. The idea actually crossed my mind during the investigation in the academy, but that time, I thought my idea was absurd and I firmly rejected it, so.”

 

Hinata notices a hint of worry from Komaeda’s eyes. He observes that Komaeda must have decided to forget about it for the mean time though as he then nods with a smile. “I agree! I mean, I thought everyone was really sweet and hopeful… I never would have believed that they ended up being members of Ultimate Despair.”

 

They continue discussing Danganronpa’s second game after that with Hinata making sure that he doesn’t evidently space out again. The truth is his worry about Komaeda misunderstanding his confession never left his mind at all, but as Komaeda continues to speak about their favorite game, Hinata feels guilty because why is he even insistent on thinking about romance when they're already enjoying a friendship as comforting as this?

 

\--

 

“And then?” Souda says as he lazily reads from the handouts rested on his lap.

 

“What do you mean by ‘and then’? I'm really bothered because literally nothing has changed!” Hinata runs a hand through his hair. “We’re just talking about games and anime and character analyses like before! It’s almost like we never even confessed to each other in the first place!”

 

“Well, duh, that’s because you're not trying to clarify things.” Souda replies, rolling his eyes as if what he said was a painfully obvious thing. To be fair, it probably is. “Why don’t you stop chickening out and actually ask if he means what you think he means? Saves you from the trouble, y’know? At least you won’t be stressed out by ‘what if’s’.”

 

“But what if—”

 

“Yep, exactly.” Souda finally looks at him. “Because you're not clarifying things, you're thinking of ‘what if’ this and ‘what if’ that. Once you finally sorted your shit out with him, you won’t have those thoughts anymore.”

 

“I'm just really worried, okay? I'm scared that once he understands what I really meant, he’ll decide to end our friendship or something.”

 

“There's also the possibility that he's not as dense as you're making him out to be.” Souda replies. “What if he did understand and is just bad at expressing his feelings? You did say that he never mentioned anything about being in a relationship with someone.”

 

The fact that Komaeda wrote him on that Math activity crosses his mind again. If Hinata looks at this objectively, he knows that he’ll conclude that Komaeda does like him the way he likes Komaeda. Despite knowing that, he still can’t help worrying at the moment.

 

What if he's wrong?

 

What if his objective judgment is wrong?

 

“Look, okay, how will I even ask?” Hinata slowly shakes his head. “Do I just, like, walk up to him and be like ‘Do you really like me?’ or something? I mean, that’s gonna be awkward whatever his response is.”

 

“Duh, of course you're not gonna say it that way, stupid.” Hinata hates how Souda is acting like he himself is experienced in this. “Ask him that if you want to, but that’s gonna involve some serious mood-building. Before he gets started on Danganronpa or some other game, beat him to it by talking about, I don’t know, love or crushes. Deep shit.”

 

“That sounds like something an asshole would do.”

 

“What the—why do you think that!? There's nothing wrong with what I suggested!”

 

“Souda, you basically told me to interrupt him from talking about what he likes the most.”

 

“You're not interrupting him if he hasn’t started yet, you know. Besides, it’s not like you'll never talk about Danganronpa again. You're just gonna use up this certain time clarifying things and that’s it, no biggie. If you want, you can even transition back to talking about Naegi or whatnot.”

 

“That doesn’t sound smooth at all.”

 

“Okay, fine, you're on your own! I'm actually trying to help you out, but if you don’t want to, then alright!”

 

\--

 

The next time Hinata met up with Komaeda again, because of lack of better ideas, he can’t help thinking about Souda’s suggestion. While it sounded like something an asshole would do, as he said, maybe he can try to do it as nicely as possible?

 

Souda does have a point; it’s not interrupting if Komaeda hasn’t started yet.

 

He's just going to clarify things, that’s all… so maybe it’s okay?

 

“Yeah, and I took that alignment test that Hinata-kun has linked me one time.” Hinata made the mistake of bringing up psychological tests though as a way to not awkwardly start right off the bat with what he wants to talk about, and the topic spiraled from there. He's actually really interested in personality tests and the like, but now, he can’t find a good opening to bring up what he actually wanted to discuss. “If I remember right, I got ‘true neutral’, I think. What was Hinata-kun’s result?”

 

“Oh, I think mine was ‘neutral good’. Sounds like bullshit, right?”

 

“Not at all!” Komaeda giggles. “Hinata-kun _is_ good, so it’s fitting too.”

 

“I'm not that good though.”

 

“But I think you are.” Komaeda smiles. Hinata feels a comforting sensation on his chest, almost enough to make him forget about his worries of their possible misunderstanding. Almost. “So far, I think Hinata-kun might be the kindest person that I have met.”

 

“Maybe you haven’t met a lot of people then.” Hinata wonders why it’s so easy for Komaeda to compliment him all the time. It’s almost as if he was the type of person who deserved to be complimented. Hinata knows that he's not.

 

Komaeda chuckles again as if Hinata was just joking. “I'm not the only one who thinks that you're nice, you know. I think all your friends do, too.”

 

“Alright, fine, I'm not gonna argue anymore.”

 

The two of them are currently resting by the window of Hope’s Peak University’s Math Building’s second floor, waiting for their next class to start. Another class is still using their supposed classroom, and that’s why they're waiting by the corridor.

 

Hinata can see that the rain started pouring while they talk to each other, and that was really fitting, he thought. It was almost funny, actually. It’s as if the weather was sympathizing with his internal dilemma. He really loves being with Komaeda, but right now, he just can’t help wondering if they indeed have misunderstood each other.

 

He's gonna be so ashamed of himself for being overly happy about ‘Komaeda liking him too’ if that’s the case…

 

“Hinata-kun,” He feels Komaeda’s smooth hand on his arm. He gets the thought that he wouldn’t really mind if they just stay like this forever. “…Haha, forgive me if I'm being intrusive, but I’ve been meaning to ask… Is something on your mind? You really look like you're bothered by something, see… I understand if it’s not my business, but… I hope you know that you can tell me anything anytime.”

 

If Komaeda says it like that—

 

“May I ask you something?”

 

Komaeda blinks, nodding. “Sure, Hinata-kun. What is it?”

 

If Komaeda says it like that—

 

“…You have a crush on me, right?”

 

—If Komaeda says it like that, Hinata really won’t be able to stop himself from asking, and he knows that that’s not good because he hasn’t planned this well at all.

 

Komaeda blinks again before a familiar shade of pink instantly dusts his cheeks. “Yeah… Have I not said it already?”

 

Hinata finds himself blinking as well. He doesn’t know if that was his body’s natural way of reacting or if he's unconsciously mirroring Komaeda. The dread that he was feeling earlier wasn’t quick to disappear even if he himself knows that it should be gone by now with just that one reply from Komaeda. “You did… Just making sure.”

 

“Oh, is that so…” Komaeda smiles, but the embarrassment was still evident on his features. “Why suddenly ask though? I know I look unreliable, but… I promise I was saying the truth.”

 

“No, no, it’s not that.” Hinata immediately counters. The last thing that he’d want to happen is for Komaeda to think that he was the one at fault here when in reality, Hinata has just been painfully foolish. “It’s not because you look unreliable. If anything, it’s actually all just because of me. I’ve been, uh…”

 

Komaeda was intently watching him, and he felt the urge to continue. He thinks it’s going to be ridiculously embarrassing if he does, but if he stops now, he also knows that it’s going to be quite unfair for Komaeda. Besides, it just won’t feel right to stop now…

 

“Well, I’ve been feeling really insecure. Nothing new.” Hinata likes to think that he sounds as casual as possible. He's pretty sure that that’s far from reality though. “I mean, uh… I still don’t understand why you'd like me, so… I guess I had a hard time grasping it.”

  
“I guess there's also the fact that I'm not really good at this too, haha…” Komaeda looks so apologetic. Hinata’s feeling really guilty for even bringing this up. “It’s my first time liking someone and having them actually like me back, see, so… I don’t really know how to do these things well. I'm pretty sure I made things awkward that day actually when we, haha, confessed to each other, but I can’t stop. I mean, whenever I try to make the situation better and actually say something sweet, I think I just end up sounding even worse… I'm really sorry, Hinata-kun.”

 

Hinata feels really bad now for actually thinking and saying out loud to Souda that they were awkward that time. “Hey, now, that’s not your fault. It’s okay, really… I didn’t really mind. That time, I was actually, uh, super happy. Souda even pointed out that I was like a creep who won’t stop smiling.”

 

“That’s good to hear.” Komaeda smiles, relief noticeable on his face. “I was really happy too. When I got back to my apartment that day, I threw myself on my bed and rolled on the mattress repeatedly, haha!”

 

“You did, huh…” Hinata didn’t even realize that he himself was smiling in relief. “That’s actually nice to hear… I mean, I'm glad that I'm not the only one who was very happy about the whole deal. I didn’t want to force myself on you, that’s why. I swear I didn’t know what I was thinking when I suddenly confessed.”

 

“Well, it ended pleasantly, right?” Komaeda giggles. “I'm glad, actually. I have decided that I’d just continue being your close friend and graduate without even telling you what I felt… I mean, I never would have guessed that you'd like me back, after all! But this turn of events is something that I liked. It’s an honor that’s far too much for me, but I'm not complaining… also… only if it’s okay, can we… hug again, Hinata-kun?”

 

Just like before, Hinata just immediately wraps him in an embrace. Unlike before though, he actually feels the need to say something this time.

 

“It’s okay if you don’t ask.” He closes his eyes as he leans his chin on Komaeda’s shoulder. “You can even hug me forever if you wanted to.”

 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Maybe years after this, Hinata will say that this is one of his most favorite memories with Komaeda, especially when he actually tightened his hug around Hinata while saying those words. “Thank you so much, Hinata-kun…”

 

“Hey, Komaeda…” He whispers. “Let’s graduate together, okay? On the same batch, on the same year, on time.”

 

He feels Komaeda nodding.

 

As they free one each of their arms to tangle their pinkies with each other, the rain starts to weaken into a mere drizzle, and Hinata gets the thought that everything is going to be fine from now on.

 

“It’s a promise, Hinata-kun.” Hearing Komaeda’s voice this up close makes it difficult to think that something still is going to go wrong. He nuzzles against Komaeda’s neck, and the giggle that followed is a sound that he’ll never forget.

 

_Let’s work even harder from now on, okay?_

 

\--


End file.
